Successor v0.1.29

v0.1.29, chat render seam extraction + visual verification harness (2026-04-09)

This pass reduces the risk surface inside src/successor/chat.py
without changing the underlying renderer methodology. The render
primitives, diff layer, and terminal ownership model stay intact; the
chat scene composition gets extracted into dedicated render modules with
new seam tests and explicit visual verification.

What landed

• src/successor/render/chat_frame.py
  • layout dataclasses and frame partition helpers
• src/successor/render/chat_header.py
  • header composition and widget placement
• src/successor/render/chat_viewport.py
  • viewport math, body-width policy, and scroll decisions
• src/successor/render/chat_intro.py
  • intro hero + info rail painting
• src/successor/render/chat_overlays.py
  • help overlay and slash-command dropdown painters
• src/successor/render/chat_input.py
  • input/search/footer painters
• src/successor/render/chat_rows.py
  • extracted row rendering and card flattening helpers
• src/successor/chat.py
  • now delegates scene composition into render modules while remaining
    the controller/runtime owner
• tests/test_chat_render_layout.py
  • seam coverage for layout and paint routing
• tests/test_chat_render_viewport.py
  • seam coverage for viewport math and streaming row placement
• docs
  • updated README.md
  • updated docs/chat-render-refactor-plan.md
  • updated docs/changelog.md

Verification

• lint:
  • ruff check src/successor/chat.py src/successor/render/chat_*.py tests/test_chat_render_layout.py tests/test_chat_render_viewport.py
• bytecode:
  • PYTHONPATH=src python3 -m compileall src/successor
• focused render slice:
  • PYTHONPATH=src pytest -q tests/test_snapshot_themes.py tests/test_intro_art.py tests/test_intro_sequence.py tests/test_chat_perf.py tests/test_chat_mouse.py tests/test_chat_paste.py tests/test_compaction_animation.py tests/test_playback.py tests/test_terminal.py tests/test_chat_render_layout.py tests/test_chat_render_viewport.py
  • 129 passed in 5.10s
• full suite:
  • PYTHONPATH=src pytest -q
  • 1227 passed in 12.34s
• headless human-emulated runtime verification:
  • drove ?, /theme paper, /mode light, /density spacious,
    /budget, /bash printf 'render-check\n', and two live model turns
    through SuccessorChat.on_key() + on_tick() with RecordingBundle
  • generated intro/help/autocomplete/runtime playback screenshots and
    visually confirmed bounded artboard layout, centered help modal,
    input-edge slash palette, and paper/light runtime composition